Getting to the remote areas we like to explore and travel to, require a lot of fuel.  The 80 series Landcruiser has a stock fuel capacity of about 25 gallons.  A fully loaded 80 will average between 9-11mpg.  That gives a range of about 250 miles.  Not to bad, but when you are covering 1000+ miles south of the border and gas isnt always readily available, its best to bring as much as you can with you!

We researched all the options available at the time and decided to go with the 44 Gallon "Long Ranger" unit from a company specilizing in aux tanks in the land of OZ.  I figure if its good enough for them in the outback, its good enough for us in Baja!  :)  

I chose this unit over the others because it uses a OEM sending unit and it fairly easy to wire up using all OEM parts for a nice fit and finish!  There is often confusion between Long Ranger and Long Range Automotive.  2 Completely different companies, selling similar items.  The Long Range Automotive unit uses its own sending unit and such.  We wanted the OEM Toyota fit and reliability so we chose the Long Ranger.  The unit is made by http://www.oot4wd.com.au  for http://www.thelongranger.com.au  

A lot of NON US spec 80 series cruisers came with factory subtanks.  Most are of the 13-17ish gallon flavor (a little too small for my tastes considering all of the work involved in installing one).  

However, since subtanks were a factory option it makes this mod a bit easier.

I also found this cool OZ spec subtank gauge and altimiter (super rare) that i installed during this mod!  The cool thing about this subtank/altimiter gauge setup is that the holes and such are already in the body for this setup.  Its a bolt on! (plus the wiring of course)!  The altimiter is a stand alone unit and requires no wiring.  The wiring (5 wires) is for the lights and the fuel gauge!

I wasnt too keen on the setup that requires tapping into the stock fuel gauge and using a toggle switch to toggle back and forth between the gauges.  I think this setup, will be easier and cleaner looking!

When installing this overhead gauge the sunvisors must be changed out as well to Non US spec ones.  Here is a pic of the US sunvisors, you can see where they would contact the console:

Here is a pic with the Japanese Market Sunvisors I just installed (much cleaner looking):

The hardest part of this entire mod is collecting all of the parts!  

What is needed for the install into a FZJ80 that was NOT equipped with a factory subtank:

Pictures Of The Tank.  Quality, fit and finish is amazing!

The install itself isnt all that hard.  One problem right off of the bat, is that the instructions from Long Ranger are horrible. Since this was our first install, a lot of it was trial and error! We have installed 3 units since and its much easier now! :)

The instructions they provide are written for people with rigs that already have OEM subtanks so there is a lot of questions left unanswered and confusion on stuff when installing this into a US spec 80.

Main highlights of the install:

Mounting the tank: I strongly suggest doing this with at least 2 people and a good floor jack.  The fitting is fairly straight forward.  The front of the aux tank is attached to the crossmember with 2 u-bolts supplied in the kit.  There is a spacer that installs inbetween the crossmember and the front  tankmount on the passenger side.  This is to compensate for a bend in the crossmember.  

Before the tank is mounted, you must remove the spare tire crossmember and support rod!

The rear of the tank mounts to 2 brackets that bolt into the holes used for the spare tire rod that is removed in step 1 of the instructions.  The tank sits ON TOP of these brackets.  These brackets do not have the holes drilled in them for the tank mounting, i am guessing because each rig varies a little that most arent the same.  Once the tank is test fitted, you need mark these where they need to be drilled, remove the brackets (tank can stay in place), drill the holes and then reinstall the brackets.  Make sure everything is sitting nice and flat before tightening everything down, then bolt the tank to the brackets via the hardware supplied.  There are 2 holes (one for each bracket) in the crossmember that need to be drilled as well.  To do this, you must drop the tank again.  I have not done this yet and will do this when i drop the tank to replace the sending unit (long story!!!!)

Cutting the stock filler neck and breather pipe: The stock filler neck and breather pipe is a very long one piece unit that extends from the filler door to the main tank.  This piece needs to be cut near the frame rails in order to install the dual neck.  Be VERY careful when cutting these tubes.

It is best to test fit the subtank into the rig before doing this.  Be carefull when test fitting the subtank that you do not force it into place and damage the new filler inlet for the tank.  I strongly recommend at least 2 people and a good floor jack! 

I fit the tank into place and then cut the stock filler and breather pipe to sit flush with the new filler inlet on the aux tank, that way all the hose are in the same place, looks cleaner!  LOL.

 I used a simple hand hacksaw and it worked great!  The filler neck is very thin wall metal and it cut very easily!  REMEMBER, you are working with fuel, so be careful to avoid sparks and such!  It is also a good idea to run a magnet into the pipe after you cut it so the metal shavings dont end up in your tank!

Installing the Dual filler neck: This was probably the trickiest part of the entire install.  The neck itself is a simple bolt on (the are even holes for mounting it already in the body).  The tricky part is installing the new filler hoses.  I used US Coast Guard approved 1 5/8" Marine Grade Fuel hose with wire inside (so it wont kink).  This stuff is super stiff and was a huge PITA to fit and bend into place!  I found a nice trick was to install the hose onto the tanks and then with the filler neck unbolted, try to slide them onto it.  Precise measurements are key here!  I also double clamped each end of the hose for extra measure!  The filler neck pictures below for the earlier 80 series would have made this so a lot easier because of the shape and directions of the outlets, but they are very hard to find and about 3x the price of the one i used and the one i used works fine.

Here are some pics of the dual filler neck setup:

(Click Pics To Enlarge)

My Installed Filler Neck:

Modifying the filler cover for the tank selector knob: The tank to be filled is selected by the tank selector knob on the dual filler neck.  Leaving it in, fills the main tank and pulling it out, fills the aux tank.  To install this, I removed the plastic fill guard from the truck to clean it and to drill the hole for the selector knob.  As you can see in this pic, the hole only has to be big enough for the selector rod to slide in and out of comfortably.  There is already a provision in this plastic fill guard for the knob so it fits and looks very clean!

Hole drilled for selector rod

Test Fit Before Install

All installed and looking clean!

Selector Knob Function

Selector Knob Function

 Plumbing The Filler Neck and Fuel Pump: The plumbing for this was fairly straight forward.  The filler neck has 4 barbs coming from it, 2 for the tanks and 2 for the vents.  Each is very straight forward and simple to figure out, connect the barbs with good hose and clamps and your good.  The fuel pump, pumps the fuel from the Aux tank and into the main tank by "Teeing" into the breather from the main tank.  This didnt make sense to me at first but once verified with a few folks that have done this mod, it makes more sense and works fine.  Basically, i just cut the vent hose from the main tank about 5 inches from the tank and installed a 1/2" brass T fitting and connected the vent as it was and installed the input from the fuel pump into the T portion of it.  It simply dumps the fuel into the tank through the vent.  Sounds weird, but that is how it works.

Wiring: The wiring for the setup was a challenge for me.  I just simply hate wiring stuff!  George was nice enough to solder the wires to the board for me and install a plug so that everything could be install cleanly.  Most people solder wires directly to the pins on the back of the subtank switch but i didnt feel comfortable doing that so i ordered the backside of the plug (female connector part#: 90980-10801) and some wires that "click" right into it (part # 82998-12340, 6 are needed) and that made it MUCH easier to install.  Cost was an extra $25 or so, but worth it for me!  

Sorry, i didnt get pics of this portion of the install!  

Here is a diagram of how i wired it all together:

Transferring the fuel from the aux tank to the main tank: This is done via a transfer pump that pumps the fuel from the aux tank into the main tank. I ended up going with a simple inline carter unit from Napa that is a very commonly used unit on boats and can be found at almost any Napa! It is Napa part # P74019.  and is rated @ 30gph and since i can transfer fuel while i am driving, it really doesnt matter.  

My only complaint is that the outlet of the tank is 1/2", the input and outputs of the fuel pump and filter are 3/8" and the inlet to the main tank are 1/2"!  This calls for a lot of reducers, misc pieces and hoseclamps and such, too many places where a leak is possible!  I would like to eventually find a fuel pump with 1/2" barbs to simplify this to 2 pieces of hose, both the same size for a very simple and clean install!

The brains behind the transferring of fuel is the control board made by George Scolaro. This board allows the use of the OEM subtank switch and it works just like the OEM setup.  

Tap the switch once to start transferring and it will continue to transfer from the aux to the main tank until you hit the button again.  It even has a built in sensor (as does the non US sending unit) that senses when the tank is empty and it stops pumping to make sure you dont burn out your fuel pump!  Very nice design!!!

The Schematic To Install The Board: (click to enlarge and then right click and save as to view it in full resolution!

More Details On Georges Subtank Control Board And Instructions How To Purchase One Can Be Found HERE

Upgrading Rear Springs To Handle Extra Weight of Tank and Fuel:  Installing the tank and carrying another 44 lbs of fuel is going to be an additional 300lbs of weight +/-.  The Old Man Emu 863 springs that i had in the truck were rated for an additional 200-440lbs of weight, but since i often had the truck loaded pretty good for trips and will be installing a rooftent in the future, i upgraded to the Old Man Emu 864 Springs in the rear, they are rated for 300-600lbs.  I havent done the full on test yet, but if they arent heavy duty enough, i will go bigger!  Should be ok though!

That about sums it up for the aux tank install!  I finished the install just in time for the fuel prices to make this mod hurt!  Welcome to the $230 + fillup club!   LOL

Tank Installed (still waiting to finish the painting) and Tucking Up Higher Then The Stock Spare:

SIDE VIEW (waiting for final paint job):

This mod was much more involved/complex / expensive then i had originally thought, but i am very happy with the outcome and result of this mod, as well as the added range of my truck!